Privatization Of Coal India, Hindustan Zinc, RCF Will Start: Govt Will Sell 5-10% To Private Investors

The government is planning to sell 5-10 percent in Coal India, Hindustan Zinc and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF).

Purpose

The intention is to push a stock market boom and boost revenue in the final quarter of the financial year through the sale of small stakes in state-run firms.

The Centre wants to sell a tranche of its stake via the offer-for-sale (OFS) mechanism.

At present value, the sale at the lower end of the range could fetch the Centre around Rs 16,500 crore or $2 billion.

History

The Union Cabinet had approved the sale of the government’s entire stake in Hindustan Zinc Limited as reported back in May.

The company was mostly government-owned.

The government had earlier offloaded its 26 percent stake in 2002, which was bought by Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group

The mining giant later acquired a further stake in the company to take its holding to 64.92 per cent.

Four OFS upcoming

Meanwhile, to be in-line with its divestment plans, the government is planning to bring four important offers for sale – Coal India, NTPC, Hindustan Zinc and RITES – over the next four years.

Other media reports say the government is also planning to sell 10-20 percent of its stake in Rashtriya Chemicals Fertilizers (RCF) and National Fertilizers (NFL) this year.

Disinvestment target

The disinvestment target for the year 2023-24 may be set at around Rs 65,000 crore.

Thus far it has increased to more than Rs 24,000 crore as disinvestment receipts in the current fiscal, as per the information available on the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) website.